Latest news with #Trump-loyal
The Star
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Trump uses trade to counter discords
IT was the kind of week that would make even a seasoned diplomat's head spin: China trade talks, India-Pakistan truce, a ceasefire with the Houthis and Iran nuclear negotiations. Not to mention a Gaza hostage release, new trade framework with the United Kingdom and the tantalising prospect of ending Russia's war in Ukraine. For President Donald Trump's boosters, these are proof that his hard-charging America First foreign and trade policies are yielding results better and faster than his predecessors could only imagine. At the same time, crucial elements remain unresolved on Iran as well as Ukraine, with Russia so far balking at a ceasefire, while India has disputed some US claims about its role in mediation efforts. Along with other norms, Trump's White House has jettisoned the diplomatic tradition of quietly building consensus among allies or between adversaries, opting instead to negotiate in public and in real time. Taken together, the latest moves reveal a White House eager to show it has momentum to pivot from a volatile first 100 days – marked by global market turmoil over tariffs – toward elusive resolutions to conflicts that Trump had promised to easily solve if he were granted a second term. 'There's a common thread, which is a desire for a telegenic deal, almost irrespective of what the terms of the deal are,' said Kori Schake, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, who served in the George W Bush administration. 'They're not plotting through a 12-stage process toward peace in Gaza,' for instance, Schake said. 'They're just throwing a hat in the air and shooting at it, and seeing how people respond to it.' On Monday, Trump touted the results of Treasury secretary Scott Bessent's trade talks with China in Switzerland over the weekend as a 'total reset'. He didn't, however, highlight that the de-escalation on tariffs ended up meeting nearly all of Beijing's core demands and still leaves the world's top economies at odds over a trade war he started. A State Department spokesperson said Trump had brought the world closer to peace than ever before in conflicts that have lasted generations. James Hewitt, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said voters had 'entrusted him to deliver on advancing American interests.' 'President Trump is a man of action, not bureaucracy,' Hewitt said. Proponents of the president's style see it as a willingness to try new approaches to solve challenges like the Russian invasion of Ukraine or the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Trump since January 'has really broken the mold of the foreign policy establishment in dealing with some very difficult global challenges that other leaders, especially President Biden and his administration, were unable to deal with,' said Fred Fleitz, who served on the White House National Security Council in Trump's first administration and is now vice-chairman of the Centre for American Security at the Trump-loyal America First Policy Institute. Unorthodox style Trump's unorthodox style was apparent even before he took office, sending his main negotiator, real estate investor Steve Witkoff, to engage in talks for a temporary Gaza ceasefire. Witkoff has since become the point person for negotiating the war in Ukraine and Iran's nuclear programme, taking over high stakes issues that would traditionally fall to the secretary of State and the White House national security adviser. As for his efforts to end wars in Ukraine and Gaza, 'at this point there's still more potential than delivery,' said Dennis Ross, who served as the White House's Middle East envoy under former US President Bill Clinton and is now a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. For Trump, 'business and transactions come first and doing what he defines as being in America's interest comes first'. Some dynamics of the Middle East developments are connected, with Trump's upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar accelerating them, according to Vali Nasr, a former adviser to the US State Department and professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. For instance, he said, the Houthi deal, which Saudi Arabia aided, was seen by both Tehran and Washington as necessary to move forward their nuclear talks. Taken by surprise As well, the Houthi ceasefire was 'important to Qatar-US negotiations on Gaza and as necessary calm for Trump to visit to the region'. Even longtime ally Israel was taken by surprise. A negotiation to end the Houthis targeting of ships in the waters near Yemen covered only American vessels, although Israel is the main target. And Hamas's release of a US hostage, Edan Alexander, on Monday was greeted with relief and frustration in Israel, as it seemed to place the fate of someone with American citizenship above that of other Israelis. Trump is also more comfortable than most of his predecessors openly weaving together geopolitics and business, lining up tariff threats or big-ticket investments alongside ceasefire negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Comprehensive leverage 'We're using the comprehensive leverage of the United States to get better deals, better outcomes for the United States,' said Brent Sadler, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation. That was the framework the Trump administration used for the India-Pakistan conflict. The president was clear he would use trade and tariffs to help quell a flareup between the two countries. 'If you don't stop it, we're not going to do any trade,' Trump said on Monday at the White House, recalling his administration's outreach to both sides. 'And all of a sudden they said, 'I think we're going to stop.' And they have. And they did it for a lot of reasons, but trade is a big one. 'People have never really used trade the way I used it, that I can tell you,' Trump said. — Bloomberg Eric Martin writes for Bloomberg. The views expressed here are the writer's own.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump looms over New Jersey campaign as GOP looks to build on 2024 gains
The New Jersey governor's race could be President Donald Trump's first chance, since returning to the White House, to sway a major GOP primary — and allegiance to Trump has become a top issue in the race. The top two contenders, former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli and radio host Bill Spadea, met with Trump at the president's Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club in late March, and both want his endorsement. But it's not clear if Trump will pick a favorite before the June 10 primary. 'It's will he or won't he? And as everyone knows, President Trump can be unpredictable at times,' said Jeanette Hoffman, a New Jersey GOP strategist who is not involved in the governor's race. 'By and large, the issue in the primary is who's the most Trump-loyal candidate in the race,' Hoffman added. That comes against the backdrop of Trump's gains in 2024 in New Jersey, where he improved his margin by 10 percentage points compared to 2020 — second-most of any state in the country. While the president still lost New Jersey by 6 points, it was the closest presidential result there in more than three decades, signaling both the new demographic coalition Trump has built for the GOP and the prospect that the 2025 governor's race could be competitive. Spadea and Ciattarelli told NBC News that they have not spoken to Trump since they met with him in late March, but they have taken their cases to the airwaves. Spadea launched his first TV ad this week, playing audio of Trump's appearance on his radio show from last May, when Trump told Spadea, 'You've had my back from the beginning' and criticized Ciattarelli for not asking Trump to campaign with him during his unsuccessful run for governor in 2021, which ended in a narrow defeat. The ad also uses artificial intelligence to portray Ciattarelli's voice reciting his 2015 criticisms that Trump was a 'charlatan' and unfit to be president. Ciattarelli's campaign launched its own attack ad in March featuring footage of Spadea saying on his radio show in 2021 that Trump 'failed' and that he did not want Trump to run again. Both candidates have dismissed the attacks. 'A whole lot of people said the things about Donald Trump back in 2015 and '16, including the vice president of the United States, JD Vance,' Ciattarelli said in a phone interview Thursday. He called Spadea's campaign 'one big lie' and accused him of trying to run from his own, more recent, criticisms of Trump. Ciattarelli also declined to say whether he disagreed with any of Trump's actions in his second term. 'I certainly support him 100% on what he doing with the border. We got to secure our nation,' Ciattarelli said. 'And I know it's going — he warned us about some short-term pain for the long-term gain. He's trying to hit the reset button on the trade imbalance. The trade imbalance affects all of us, and that's not an easy task.' Spadea campaign manager Tom Bonfonti accused Ciattarelli of trying to deflect from his past Trump critiques. Spadea himself noted that his relationship with Trump has persisted even when he has disagreed with the president, and said he was 'authentic with him about my history with him' when they spoke in March. 'I've been with him since the escalator,' Spadea told NBC News, referring to when Trump launched his first presidential campaign a decade ago. 'And although I have criticized some policy decisions, both publicly and privately, no question about it ... I have a real relationship with the president in that sense, and I think that's a positive. But I have been with him and I support his agenda 100%.' Spadea and Ciatarelli aren't the only ones appealing to the MAGA base. Former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac, who has been endorsed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, is a self-described 'forever Trumper.' Kranjac's campaign manager, Mike Byrne, said Kranjac has not spoken directly with Trump, but their team has been in touch with some people in Trump's 'orbit.' A fourth candidate, state Sen. Jon Bramnick, who has criticized Trump, told NBC News he has not reached out to the White House. He said he would welcome an endorsement from the president but acknowledged he is unlikely to get it. Kellyanne Conway, Trump's former campaign manager and senior adviser who is working with the pro-Ciattarelli super PAC Kitchen Table Conservatives, told reporters last month that she believes the 'odds are' that Trump will endorse in the race and that he could back Ciattarelli. (Conway is not the only Trump alum tied to the race. His 2020 campaign manager, Bill Stepien, is working with Spadea's campaign.) 'I never get ahead of the president,' Conway told NBC News. 'I know he had a very good meeting and exchange with Jack, and is a savvy consumer of polling data.' Ciattarelli has led the field public polling and outpaced his opponents on the airwaves, spending $3.2 million on ads so far, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. Bramnick's campaign began launching ads in late February. Kranjac, who is self-funding his campaign, is expected to launch an ad soon, Byrne said. Ciattarelli's latest TV spot, which targets 'Trenton Democrats' on energy costs, is a sign that the former assemblyman may be turning his attention to the general election. But Trump could still shake up the primary if he decides to weigh in. And the jockeying for Trump's endorsement underscores just how quickly he has reshaped the GOP. In the state's last gubernatorial race in 2021, a pro-Trump candidate abruptly ended his campaign after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, clearing Ciattarelli's path to the nomination. He went on to lose by 3 points to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who cannot run again due to term limits. Ciattarelli did not campaign with Trump then. But this year, during a February debate, Ciattarelli joined the other candidates in saying they would welcome Trump to campaign the Garden State. Trump does have a mixed endorsement record in New Jersey, endorsing Christine Serrano Glassner one month before the GOP Senate primary last year, which she went on to lose. One of her opponents had already locked up support from county parties, which are powerful in New Jersey but used to have more sway over candidates' ballot positions than they do now. Spadea said Trump could have a 'tremendous' impact on the primary if he picks a favorite. Spadea said he has asked Trump for his endorsement, and he also invited Trump to campaign in New Jersey immediately following the primary, regardless of who wins. Ciattarelli declined to say if he asked for Trump's support when they met in March, but he said he does want the president's endorsement. Ciattarelli said he thanked Trump for temporary halting wind farms off the Jersey shore and for slamming New York Democrats on congestion pricing. He also said he told Trump 'all about how we can win in November here in New Jersey. And he was very thankful and excited about that prospect.' As for Trump voters who might still be skeptical of him, Ciattarelli said, 'All I know is that Republicans up and down the state of New Jersey want very much for us to have a Republican governor. My job is to make the case that I'm the only one that provides the only opportunity to win in November.' That electability case could carry weight with Trump. One GOP strategist, granted anonymity to speak candidly about Trump's endorsement process, noted that Trump weighs a candidate's viability in a primary and general election when deciding who to back. 'The president loves to support winners,' the strategist said. Spadea, though, argued that he is the more viable candidate. He cast his primary opponents as Democrats in disguise and said he can appeal to 'disaffected Democrats that feel their party has abandoned them,' especially on a range of social issues. Bramnick is also making an electability case in the primary, noting he has won a state Senate district that supports Democrats at the top of the ticket. Bramnick said he is moderate on abortion, as a self-described 'pro-choice Republican,' but conservative on immigration. 'Look, it's interesting to have positions that you believe are strong Republican, partisan positions. And guess what? You're going to lose,' Bramnick said. 'You have to appeal to not only Republicans, but also independents and moderate Democrats ... Otherwise we're going to be in a minority for another 20 years.' New Jersey Republicans believe they have a real shot at the governor's race, pointing both to Ciattarelli's close loss in 2021 and Trump's 6-point loss in November as proof that the party has momentum. 'I think New Jerseyans are really wearing out,' said Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., who chaired Trump's campaign in the Garden State and is staying neutral in the governor's race. 'I'm not saying they're becoming deep red, hard Republicans, but they want some voice of common sense.' This article was originally published on
NBC News
02-05-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Trump looms over New Jersey as GOP looks to build on 2024 gains
The New Jersey governor's race could be President Donald Trump's first chance, since returning to the White House, to sway a major GOP primary — and allegiance to Trump has become a top issue in the race. The top two contenders, former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli and radio host Bill Spadea, met with Trump at the president's Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club in late March, and both want his endorsement. But it's not clear if Trump will pick a favorite before the June 10 primary. 'It's will he or won't he? And as everyone knows, President Trump can be unpredictable at times,' said Jeanette Hoffman, a New Jersey GOP strategist who is not involved in the governor's race. 'By and large, the issue in the primary is who's the most Trump-loyal candidate in the race,' Hoffman added. That comes against the backdrop of Trump's gains in 2024 in New Jersey, where he improved his margin by 10 percentage points compared to 2020 — second-most of any state in the country. While the president still lost New Jersey by 6 points, it was the closest presidential result there in more than three decades, signaling both the new demographic coalition Trump has built for the GOP and the prospect that the 2025 governor's race could be competitive. Spadea and Ciattarelli told NBC News that they have not spoken to Trump since they met with him in late March, but they have taken their cases to the airwaves. Spadea launched his first TV ad this week, playing audio of Trump's appearance on his radio show from last May, when Trump told Spadea, 'You've had my back from the beginning' and criticized Ciattarelli for not asking Trump to campaign with him during his unsuccessful run for governor in 2021, which ended in a narrow defeat. The ad also uses artificial intelligence to portray Ciattarelli's voice reciting his 2015 criticisms that Trump was a 'charlatan' and unfit to be president. Ciattarelli's campaign launched its own attack ad in March featuring footage of Spadea saying on his radio show in 2021 that Trump 'failed' and that he did not want Trump to run again. Both candidates have dismissed the attacks. 'A whole lot of people said the things about Donald Trump back in 2015 and '16, including the vice president of the United States, JD Vance,' Ciattarelli said in a phone interview Thursday. He called Spadea's campaign 'one big lie' and accused him of trying to run from his own, more recent, criticisms of Trump. Ciattarelli also declined to say whether he disagreed with any of Trump's actions in his second term. 'I certainly support him 100% on what he doing with the border. We got to secure our nation,' Ciattarelli said. 'And I know it's going — he warned us about some short-term pain for the long-term gain. He's trying to hit the reset button on the trade imbalance. The trade imbalance affects all of us, and that's not an easy task.' Spadea campaign manager Tom Bonfonti accused Ciattarelli of trying to deflect from his past Trump critiques. Spadea himself noted that his relationship with Trump has persisted even when he has disagreed with the president, and said he was 'authentic with him about my history with him' when they spoke in March. 'I've been with him since the escalator,' Spadea told NBC News, referring to when Trump launched his first presidential campaign a decade ago. 'And although I have criticized some policy decisions, both publicly and privately, no question about it ... I have a real relationship with the president in that sense, and I think that's a positive. But I have been with him and I support his agenda 100%.' Trump endorsement looms Spadea and Ciatarelli aren't the only ones appealing to the MAGA base. Former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac, who has been endorsed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, is a self-described 'forever Trumper.' Kranjac's campaign manager, Mike Byrne, said Kranjac has not spoken directly with Trump, but their team has been in touch with some people in Trump's 'orbit.' A fourth candidate, state Sen. Jon Bramnick, who has criticized Trump, told NBC News he has not reached out to the White House. He said he would welcome an endorsement from the president but acknowledged he is unlikely to get it. Kellyanne Conway, Trump's former campaign manager and senior adviser who is working with the pro-Ciattarelli super PAC Kitchen Table Conservatives, told reporters last month that she believes the 'odds are' that Trump will endorse in the race and that he could back Ciattarelli. (Conway is not the only Trump alum tied to the race. His 2020 campaign manager, Bill Stepien, is working with Spadea's campaign.) 'I never get ahead of the president,' Conway told NBC News. 'I know he had a very good meeting and exchange with Jack, and is a savvy consumer of polling data.' Ciattarelli has led the field public polling and outpaced his opponents on the airwaves, spending $3.2 million on ads so far, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. Bramnick's campaign began launching ads in late February. Kranjac, who is self-funding his campaign, is expected to launch an ad soon, Byrne said. Ciattarelli's latest TV spot, which targets 'Trenton Democrats' on energy costs, is a sign that the former assemblyman may be turning his attention to the general election. But Trump could still shake up the primary if he decides to weigh in. And the jockeying for Trump's endorsement underscores just how quickly he has reshaped the GOP. In the state's last gubernatorial race in 2021, a pro-Trump candidate abruptly ended his campaign after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, clearing Ciattarelli's path to the nomination. He went on to lose by 3 points to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who cannot run again due to term limits. Ciattarelli did not campaign with Trump then. But this year, during a February debate, Ciattarelli joined the other candidates in saying they would welcome Trump to campaign the Garden State. Trump does have a mixed endorsement record in New Jersey, endorsing Christine Serrano Glassner one month before the GOP Senate primary last year, which she went on to lose. One of her opponents had already locked up support from county parties, which are powerful in New Jersey but used to have more sway over candidates' ballot positions than they do now. Spadea said Trump could have a 'tremendous' impact on the primary if he picks a favorite. Spadea said he has asked Trump for his endorsement, and he also invited Trump to campaign in New Jersey immediately following the primary, regardless of who wins. Ciattarelli declined to say if he asked for Trump's support when they met in March, but he said he does want the president's endorsement. Ciattarelli said he thanked Trump for temporary halting wind farms off the Jersey shore and for slamming New York Democrats on congestion pricing. He also said he told Trump 'all about how we can win in November here in New Jersey. And he was very thankful and excited about that prospect.' As for Trump voters who might still be skeptical of him, Ciattarelli said, 'All I know is that Republicans up and down the state of New Jersey want very much for us to have a Republican governor. My job is to make the case that I'm the only one that provides the only opportunity to win in November.' GOP eyes an opportunity That electability case could carry weight with Trump. One GOP strategist, granted anonymity to speak candidly about Trump's endorsement process, noted that Trump weighs a candidate's viability in a primary and general election when deciding who to back. 'The president loves to support winners,' the strategist said. Spadea, though, argued that he is the more viable candidate. He cast his primary opponents as Democrats in disguise and said he can appeal to 'disaffected Democrats that feel their party has abandoned them,' especially on a range of social issues. Bramnick is also making an electability case in the primary, noting he has won a state Senate district that supports Democrats at the top of the ticket. Bramnick said he is moderate on abortion, as a self-described 'pro-choice Republican,' but conservative on immigration. 'Look, it's interesting to have positions that you believe are strong Republican, partisan positions. And guess what? You're going to lose,' Bramnick said. 'You have to appeal to not only Republicans, but also independents and moderate Democrats ... Otherwise we're going to be in a minority for another 20 years.' New Jersey Republicans believe they have a real shot at the governor's race, pointing both to Ciattarelli's close loss in 2021 and Trump's 6-point loss in November as proof that the party has momentum. 'I think New Jerseyans are really wearing out,' said Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., who chaired Trump's campaign in the Garden State and is staying neutral in the governor's race. 'I'm not saying they're becoming deep red, hard Republicans, but they want some voice of common sense.'
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DOGE Goons at Social Security Forced to Bring Migrants Back to Life
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) goons at the Social Security Administration were forced to resurrect dozens of immigrants from the dead over the past week. Elon Musk's engineers had carried out a scheme to falsely list more than 6,000 immigrants as dead in a Social Security database known as the 'death master file,' The Washington Post reported last week. Entry into the file cuts a person off from key financial services, such as receiving benefits and accessing a bank account. As part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration, the goal was to pressure the migrants to 'self deport,' The New York Times reported. Now, almost three dozen of the immigrants have protested the move, demonstrated that they are alive, and won a victory: They are no longer listed among the deceased, the Post reported Friday. The immigrants, who include a Haitian refugee and a child, have shown up at Social Security offices with driver's licenses, work orders, and letters from their states declaring them dead. While Musk's team was planning the move over the last few months, senior staffers at Social Security had expressed concern that it was illegal, the Post reported. But the change was pushed through anyway by the agency's Trump-loyal chief, Leland Dudek, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The Post reported that one top IT official was physically removed from his office by security officers after he voiced concerns about the plan. The White House, which didn't immediately answer the Daily Beast's request for comment, argued to the Post that the file wasn't actually for dead people. 'This reporting is false. These illegal aliens were never classified as dead,' spokesperson Liz Huston told the paper. 'The 'Death Master File' was renamed the 'Ineligible Master File' prior to their names being transferred. Once U.S. Customs and Border Protection terminated their parole, these individuals were no longer eligible for benefits, and Social Security Administration quickly took action to protect the benefits of hardworking American citizens.' However, the paper pushed back on the White House's claims. The Post said that both a White House official and a Social Security official had previously confirmed that the immigrants were labeled as dead. It also reported that, as of Friday, the file was still referred to as the 'death master file' in Social Security's internal systems and on its website.
Vox
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Vox
Trump urged Musk to get more aggressive. 48 hours of chaos followed.
The latest stage in Elon Musk's effort to purge the civil service came on Saturday afternoon with an email to federal workers asking: 'What did you do last week?' 'Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager,' the message from the US Office of Personnel Management read. 'Please do not send any classified information, links, or attachments. Deadline is this Monday at 11:59pmEST.' The message stoked fear throughout the civil service, as many smelled a trap set by a capricious overlord looking for excuses to fire them. And indeed, on X, Musk posted an ominous threat: 'Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.' Yet it also stoked a surprising amount of pushback from Trump appointees inside the administration itself. Newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard sent messages to their employees telling them not to reply. So did officials at the departments of State, Defense, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services. Several such messages emphasized that agency heads are responsible for employee review — meaning that Musk isn't. Amid a swirling backlash, Musk acted defensively at first, claiming his request was innocuous. 'The bar is very low here. An email with some bullet points that make any sense at all is acceptable!' he posted. He added that the email was merely 'a very basic pulse check,' claiming it was meant to suss out workers who 'are not checking their email at all' or instances in which 'non-existent people or the identities of dead people are being used to collect paychecks.' But later on Monday, he fumed: 'This mess will get sorted out this week. Lot of people in for a rude awakening and strong dose of reality. They don't get it yet, but they will.' The bigger picture here is that though Musk has been speaking — and often acting — as if he were the federal government's CEO (or at least its COO), many Trump appointees have been increasingly annoyed at his chaotic impact on their agencies. A Washington Post story published Friday chronicled many of these complaints, from the lack of say many agencies were getting in who was being laid off (leading some to frantically attempt to rehire employees who were fired), to the cancellation of contracts for legally mandated functions, and much more. Then, in a post Saturday morning, President Donald Trump sent a TruthSocial missive: 'ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE.' 'Will do, Mr. President!' Musk responded on X. (Yes, we live in a country where our president posts on the social network he owns, and his top adviser answers on a separate social network the adviser owns.) The 'What did you do last week?' email, which repeated a tactic Musk used during his takeover of Twitter in 2022, soon followed. But some resistance also followed, including from some surprising sources, like from Patel, the newly confirmed, unshakably Trump-loyal FBI director. 'The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures,' Patel wrote in a message to FBI employees. 'When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses.' We don't know what happened behind the scenes here — it's possible Patel got permission from Trump or Musk to exempt the FBI. If not, though, this could be read as a shot across the bow from someone with unimpeachable Trumpworld credentials. The message: no one gets to run — or dismantle — the FBI except me. I've been wondering whether confirmed Trump appointees would eventually push back against DOGE getting free rein in their agencies – something that prevents them from running their departments as they see fit. For instance, Musk posted Sunday that 'a large number of good responses have been received already' to the 'last week' email: 'These are the people who should be considered for promotion.' But is Musk truly the decider on who gets promoted in every agency? One would think Cabinet secretaries and agency heads would have something to say about that. But given that Musk is clearly acting with Trump's blessing, many have been fearful to push back against his moves. Standing up to Musk is also difficult because he appears to have gained control of key levers of power within the government — for instance, through his allies' control of the Office of Personnel Management, he seems to be able to engineer layoffs of many federal workers while placing others on paid administrative leave. And Musk claimed on Monday that he'd do more of that very soon. 'Those who ignored President Trump's executive order to return to work have now received over a month's warning,' Musk posted. 'Starting this week, those who still fail to return to office will be placed on administrative leave.' See More: Politics Trump Administration
